Though it may be a long shot, state Sen. Alma Wheeler Smith is convinced she will be Michigan"s next governor.

Facing what may seem to be insurmountable odds against three high-profile Democratic candidates, Smith, who has thus far registered single-digit name-recognition in polls, says her experience and reputation will propel her to the position as the state"s first black female governor.

"I am going to win so you may as well vote for me now," she proclaimed to the University"s chapter of College Democrats Sunday.

If elected, she would be the second black person to hold statewide office. Democratic Secretary of State Richard Austin, who died earlier this year, served from 1971 to 1994 as the first black in a statewide post. The only other black candidate for governor was then-Wayne County Executive William Lucas, a former Democrat who ran as a Republican in an unsuccessful 1986 challenge to former Gov. James Blanchard, also an opponent of Smith"s in this year"s campaign.

With the state facing a budget shortfall in the coming years that may number in the hundreds of millions, Smith touts her experience in budgetary issues as a two-term state senator, an eight-year trustee of the South Lyon School Board and a two-year term as a Washtenaw County commissioner. She also served as an aide to her Senate predecessor, Lana Pollack.

"You have to be familiar with the legislative process and the appropriations process," Smith said, indirectly referring to Attorney General Jennifer Granholm, one of the frontrunners in the race, who never held elected office before becoming attorney general in 1999.

"I win because people know I know what I"m doing and they know I know what I"m talking about," she said.

Among Smith"s proposals include a plan to fully refund, via tax credits, in-state community college and university students" tuition, splitting the Department of Community Health into two departments, with an additional one focusing on mental health and consolidating the departments of Environmental Quality and Natural Resources into one department.

In addition to Blanchard and Granholm, Smith"s opponents in the August 2002 Democratic primary include U.S. Rep. David Bonior of Mount Clemens and state Sen. Gary Peters of Bloomfield Township.

Smith frequently lambasts current GOP Gov. John Engler for putting the priorities of the wealthy and corporations over those of lesser means.

Under Engler, she said, "corporations that are making hundreds of millions of dollars are getting state funds for job training."

Since Engler is prohibited from seeking a fourth term, Smith was asked why she criticized him to such an extent and didn"t focus instead on the lieutenant governor, who is seeking the GOP nomination for the state"s top job.

"I don"t expect (Posthumus) to be any different as a governor," Smith said. "I think Dick Posthumus has essentially bought into what John Engler believes for the last 12 years. When he was the majority leader of the Senate, Dick Posthumus did whatever the governor asked."

Smith believes that except on environmental issues, all five Democratic candidates "essentially believe in the same things, it"s our understanding, our experience, and our abilities to get things done that will make a difference on how we govern."

In the August 2002 GOP primary, Posthumus faces state Sen. John Schwarz of Battle Creek.